by Jin Yong
At this moment Guo Jing and Huang Rong were enjoying happiness and contentment in their hearts; they did not want to mind other people’s business. But hearing ‘The Old Urchin’ three characters their hearts were stirred. They both jumped at the same time and pursued those two men. The men’s martial art skills looked ordinary; they did not have the slightest idea that they were being followed. Leaving the town they ran for about five, six ‘li’s more before turning into a valley. They heard continuous shouts and curses coming from behind the mountain.
Guo Jing and Huang Rong picked up their speed and followed into the valley. They saw that a bunch of people were gathered on a part of a field. Two of them had torches in their hands. In the middle of the field Zhou Botong was sitting motionless. It was not clear if he was alive or dead. Facing Zhou Botong there was someone sitting cross-legged, wearing a red kassaya; it was Lingzhi Shangren [lit. upper/above man, a respectful term to address Buddhist monk]. He too, was motionless. On Zhou Botong’s left there was a cave. Its entrance was small, so anybody wanted to enter must stoop down. Outside the cave there were five, six people shouting and cursing, but nobody dared to get within a few ‘zhang’s of the cave, as if they were afraid something might come out of the cave and hurt them.
Guo Jing recalled one of the night walkers say, “The Old Urchin has fallen into Brother Peng’s trick;” and now he saw Zhou Botong was sitting motionless just like a corpse. He was afraid that Zhou Botong was injured; he was very anxious and was about to jump forward when Huang Rong pulled his arm and whispered, “Before we do anything, let’s investigate what happened first.”
Two people hid behind a mountain rock and looked at the people outside the cave. It turned out they were all old acquaintances: Shen Xian Lao Guai [Ginseng Immortal Old Freak] Liang Ziweng, Gui Men Long Wang [Dragon King of Guimen (lit. ghost gate)] Sha Tongtian, Qian Shou Ren Tu [Thousand Hands Butcher] Peng Lianhu, San Tou Jiao [Three Headed Scaly Dragon] Hou Tonghai, plus the two night-walkers they followed earlier. The light from the torches illuminated their faces and Jing and Rong recognized those two as Liang Ziweng’s disciples; Guo Jing had fought them the first time he learned the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.
Huang Rong thought that now these people were not Guo Jing’s and her matches; she looked to all directions but did not see anybody else. With a low voice she said, “With the Old Urchin’s skill, how could these several fellows defeat him? It seems like the Western Poison Ouyang Feng is lurking somewhere.”
She was about to think of a way to investigate further when Peng Lianhu shouted loud and clear, “Thief male servant bird! [I know this one sounds weird, but it is the literal translation. I’ll leave it to the editors to find a more suitable curse words ... ©] If you don’t come out, Old Man here will smoke you out!”
From the cave came a stern voice, “Whatever stinky tricks you have; bring it on!”
Guo Jing recognized it was his Da Shifu [First Master] Ke Zhen’e’s voice; he did not care if Ouyang Feng was lurking around somewhere. “Shifu!” he shouted, “Your disciple Guo Jing is here!” His hands had already made some moves while he was still shouting. He grabbed Hou Tonghai’s back and flung him aside.
The people outside the cave were thrown into confusion. Sha Tongtian and Peng Lianhu made a simultaneous attack. Liang Ziweng turned around Guo Jing’s back, ready to make a sneak attack.
Ke Zhen’Einside the cave heard everything; he raised his hand and launched a ‘du ling’ [poisonous water caltrop] toward Liang Ziweng’s back.
The projectile carried a fierce gust of wind. Liang Ziweng hastily lowered his head; the ‘du ling’ flew over his head, cutting several strands of his hair. He was so shocked that cold sweats trickled down his back. He knew Ke Zhen’e’s secret projectiles contained a violent poison on it; the other day Peng Lianhu nearly got killed under this weapon. Hastily he leaped back several ‘zhang’s, stretched out his hand to feel the top of his head. Luckily his scalp was not injured. Straightaway he took some ‘tou gu ding’ [Bone Penetrating Nails] from his pocket and walked quietly toward the left of the cave; he wanted to enter the cave to extract his revenge.
He was just about to raise his hand when suddenly his wrist was numb; something hit his hand. With a clanking noise the ‘tou gu ding’ fell to the ground. And then he heard a female voice said with a laugh, “Kneel down! Or you’ll eat my stick!”
Liang Ziweng quickly turned his head and saw Huang Rong stood smiling, with a bamboo stick in her hand. He was scared and angry at the same time; his left palm struck toward her shoulder, his right hand tried to grab the bamboo stick. Huang Rong stepped aside to evade his left palm, but did not move the bamboo stick, she let him to have a good grip on it. Liang Ziweng was delighted, he held out his hand, thinking that if this young girl did not let go, he would snatch the stick away. As soon as he pulled, he did indeed manage to pull the bamboo stick away, but unexpectedly the end of the stick shook and slid right out of his palm. By this time the end of the bamboo stick had entered his circle of defense. His hands were so close to the stick that he hurriedly reached back to grab; but he was too late. A dark green shadow flashed and ‘slap!’ his head was squarely hit by the bamboo stick.
Overall his martial art skill was not weak; in this critical moment he was still able to throw himself to the ground and he rolled away more than a ‘zhang’ away before he sprang back up. He looked with a shocked expression at this young girl with bright eyes and ivory teeth. The top of his head was hurting, his mind was confused, and his face looked awkward.
Huang Rong said with a laugh, “Do you know the name of this stick method? You have been beaten by me, so what did you turn into?”
Liang Ziweng had suffered hardship under this Dog Beating Stick Technique in the past; he was beaten half dead and half alive under Hong Qigong’s hands. It had been several years since then, but he still had a lingering fear in his heart. He noticed that the stick was indeed Hong Qigong’s Dog Beating Stick, and the stick method was indeed Hong Qigong’s Dog Beating Stick Technique, used up against him. It looked like this young girl was truly Hong Qigong’s heir. With the corner of his eyes he saw Sha and Peng two people continuously step back under the power of Guo Jing’s palms without being able to counterattack; he called out, “In honor of the Old Hong Bangzhu [Clan Leader Hong] we’d better go!” He called out his two disciples and turned around to flee.
Guo Jing’s left elbow circled around forcing Sha Tongtian to retreat three steps; followed by the sweep of his left hand. Peng Lianhu saw that this palm carried a strong gust of wind, he did not dare to take it head-on, he hastily stepped aside to evade. Guo Jing’s right hand made a hook, grabbed his back and lifted him up.
Peng Lianhu was rather short, being lifted high in the air his legs were kicking around frantically. He tried to hit and kick to free himself, but he did not have any strength left. He saw Guo Jing’s left hand make a fist, ready to strike his chest like a hammer pounding a nail; how could he endure this strike? He hastily shouted, “What date is today?”
“What?” Guo Jing was startled.
“Are you going to keep a good faith? Do you stay true to your own promise?” Peng Lianhu asked.
“What?” Guo Jing asked again; his right hand was still holding Peng Lianhu high in the air.
“We have agreed to have a martial art contest in Jiaxing on the fifteenth of the eighth month, at the Misty Rain Tavern,” Peng Lianhu said, “We are not in Jiaxing, and today is not the Mid-autumn Festival. How can you injure me?”
Guo Jing thought he was right; he was about to release him when suddenly he remembered something. “What did you do to my Zhou Dage [big brother Zhou]?”
Peng Lianhu replied, “The Old Urchin is betting against that Tibetan monk; whoever moves first lose. What does it have to do with me?”
Guo Jing cast a glance toward the two people sitting on the ground, he felt relieved. “So that’s how it is,” he thought. Then he shouted, “Da Shifu [first master], are you S
enior well?” Ke Zhen’Eonly uttered an ‘Hm’ sound from inside the cave.
Guo Jing was afraid as soon as he let Peng Lianhu go, he would kick him on the chest; hence with his right hand he flung Peng Lianhu several feet away, while calling out, “Off you go!”
Peng Lianhu took that opportunity to somersault and land on the ground. He saw Sha Tongtian and Liang Ziweng had already run away. He inwardly scolded them for not remembering their friend. He cupped his fists toward Guo Jing and said, “Seven days later at Misty Rain Tavern we will decide victory and defeat.” He turned around and displaying his ‘qing gong’ [lightness kungfu] he ran away. He was wondering about one thing, “Each time I meet this kid, his martial art is improving by leaps and bounds. Isn’t that strange? Did he eat some magic pills or find some immortal secret?”
Huang Rong went toward Zhou Botong and Lingzhi Shangren; she noticed that both of them were staring at each other without blinking their eyes. Looking at the situation she recalled the conversation between those two night-walkers and knew that this must be Peng Lianhu’s evil scheme. They must be scared of the Old Urchin’s martial art, so they tricked him into making a bet against this Tibetan monk to stay still. Lingzhi Shangren’s martial art was nowhere near the Old Urchin’s; but by keeping him from moving, others would have the opportunity to deal with Ke Zhen’e.
The Old Urchin would be happy to have someone accompany him to play; he would not care about other matters, so it would be useless to speak reason with him. Although there was an earth-shattering fight going on next to him, he would sit still like Taishan [Mount Tai]; he would not even move his little finger, he was determined to win his bet against Lingzhi Shangren.
“Old Urchin! I’m here!” Huang Rong called out. Eagle Shooting Hero
Zhou Botong heard her, but he was afraid to lose, so he did not respond.
Huang Rong said, “The way you bet, even if you sit for several more hours you won’t know who wins and who loses; what kind of fun is that? You know what, let me do this: I will tickle both of you on your ‘xiao yao xue’ [laugh waist acupoint] with my both hands; I will make both hands have the same strength. Whoever laughs first will lose.”
Zhou Botong had been sitting impatiently; hearing Huang Rong’s words he agreed wholeheartedly, but he did not dare to show his approval. Huang Rong did not say anything more, she went in between the two and sat down. She put her Dog Beating Stick on the ground and stretched both arms, two index fingers hit both men’s ‘xiao yao xue’. She knew Zhou Botong’s internal energy far surpassed the Tibetan monk’s, so she was not being unfair; she exerted equal strength. But to her surprise while Zhou Botong admittedly did not move, Lingzhi Shangren also seemed like he did not feel anything.
Huang Rong secretly admired him; she thought, “This monk’s skill in closing up his acupoints is really good. If I were hit like this, I would have rolled around in laughter.” Then she exerted more strength to her hands.
Zhou Botong used his internal energy trying hard to resist the strength of Huang Rong’s finger; but this ‘xiao yao xue’ was located very close to the ribs, the muscle was very tender, it was very difficult to send the energy to that spot. If he straightened up his back he could borrow the momentum from the movement to unload the strength; but that would cause him to move and lose the bet. He felt Huang Rong’s finger getting stronger and stronger, he had no choice but desperately resist her finger.
A moment later he could not take it any longer, the muscle under his ribs contract and expand to repel Huang Rong’s finger. He leaped up and laughed out loud, saying, “Fat Monk, you are good! The Old Urchin admits defeat!”
Seeing him admit defeat, Huang Rong was regretful, “If I knew this would happen, I would have add a little more strength to the fat monk’s body,” she thought; and then she stood up and said toward Lingzhi Shangren, “You won. Your grand-aunt does not want your life. Just go! Go!”
Interestingly Lingzhi Shangren seemed not to hear her; he was still sitting motionless. Huang Rong put out a hand and pushed his shoulder, while shouted loudly, “Who wants to see your stupid face here? Do you want to die?” She only pushed lightly, but to her surprise Lingzhi Shangren fell down to the ground, still in the cross-legged sitting position, just like a wooden carving of Buddha.
Zhou Botong, Jing and Rong were stunned. Huang Rong thought, “Could it be that his closing up acupoints skill is not perfected yet and he died while doing it?” She held out her hand to feel his breathing and found that Lingzhi Shangren was still breathing. Immediately she understood what was going on; she was angry but amused at the same time. To Zhou Botong she said, “Old Urchin, you fell into others’ trick without knowing it. You are really dumb!”
Zhou Botong opened his eyes wide. “What?” he was angry.
Huang Rong said with a smile, “You unseal his acupoints first, then we’ll talk.”
Zhou Botong rolled his eyes then he stooped down and traced Lingzhi Shangren’s body. He tapped several places and found out that eight of Lingzhi Shangren’s major acupoints were sealed by someone else. He jumped up in anger and shouted, “That did not count! That did not count!”
“What did not count?” Huang Rong asked.
Zhou Botong replied, “His friends sealed up his acupoints after he was seated, of course this fat monk could not move. Even if we sit for three more days and nights he won’t lose.” Turning toward Lingzhi Shangren lying on the ground, he called out, “Come, we’ll compete again.”
Seeing Zhou Botong was exuberant, he was not by any means injured, Guo Jing was worried about his Shifu. He no longer listened to Zhou Botong talking nonsense, he sneaked into the cave to see Ke Zhen’Ewithout saying anything.
Zhou Botong stooped down to unseal Lingzhi Shangren’s acupoints while talking nonstop, “Come, we’ll compete again, we’ll compete again!”
Huang Rong coldly said, “What about my Shifu? Where did you throw him?”
Zhou Botong was taken aback. “Aiyo!” he cried and turned around, rushing toward the cave. He moved so abruptly that he almost collided with Guo Jing at the cave entrance. Guo Jing was holding Ke Zhen’E’s hand, leading him out of the cave. He saw his Shifu was wearing plain white cloth and white headband; Guo Jing was startled, “Shifu!” he asked, “Have any of your family members died? Where are Er Shifu [Second Master] and the others?”
Ke Zhen’E raised his head to the sky without saying anything, two lines of tears flowed down on his cheeks. Guo Jing was shocked, but did not dare to ask. Then he saw Zhou Botong was helping someone else going out of the cave. That person’s left hand was holding a wine gourd, his right hand holding half a chicken, his mouth busily nibble on the chicken leg, a broad smile on his face, and he kept nodding his head. He was none other than the Nine-fingered Divine Beggar Hong Qigong.
Jing and Rong two people were overjoyed, “Shifu!” they called out together.
Ke Zhen’E’s face suddenly appeared very angry; he lifted up the iron staff and fiercely hit the back of Huang Rong’s head. The staff movement was swift and fierce, it was a lethal strike from the ‘fu mo zhang fa’ [demon subduing staff technique], which he had painstakingly trained to perfection in the Mongolian desert, with the intention to use it against the blinded Mei Chaofeng. It was created so that even though Mei Chaofeng could hear the staff’s wind, she would not be able to evade it.
Huang Rong had just seen Hong Qigong after a long time and was squealing with delight; she had never guarded against any sneak attack from her back. By the time she was feeling the wind, the blast of the iron staff had already enveloped her completely. Guo Jing saw the staff was about to shatter her skull, in his desperation his left hand swept horizontally shoving the staff aside; while his right hand stretched out and grabbed the head of the staff. In panic he had used too much power, without realizing that by this time his strength had increased tremendously. The move of his left palm was from the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.
Ke Zhen’E felt a sudden surge of strong energ
y. He was unable to block and the iron staff fell down from his hand, he himself also tumbling down to the ground. Guo Jing was startled; hastily he Eagle Shooting Hero 987 stooped down to pick him up. “Da Shifu! [First Master]” he called out. Guo Jing saw Ke Zhen’e’s nose was swollen and two of his teeth were broken.
Ke Zhen’E spat the teeth, along with some blood, into his palm. “For you!” he said in a cold voice.
Guo Jing was dumbstruck. He knelt down and said, “Disciple deserves to die. Shifu, please punish me severely.”
Ke Zhen’E was still holding out his hand, saying, “For you!”
Guo Jing wept. “Da Shifu ...” He chocked, not knowing what to say or do.
Zhou Botong laughed and said, “I’ve seen master beating his disciple, but I’ve never seen disciple beating his master until today. Amusing! Truly amusing!”
Hearing this Ke Zhen’E was more furious. “Fine,” he said, “There is a saying: swallow the knocked down tooth and the blood. Shall I do it for you?” Holding out his hand he tossed the teeth into his mouth, throwing his head backward he swallowed the teeth into his belly. Zhou Botong clapped his hands, burst out in laughter and cheered loudly.
Huang Rong noticed the situation was unusual. The grievous expression on Ke Zhen’E’s face had not disappeared. It was unclear why he wanted to kill her; her heart was full of questions. Slowly she went to Hong Qigong and pulled his hand.
Guo Jing knocked his head to the ground and said, “Even if I have to die ten thousands times, disciple will never dare to offend Da Shifu. I was out of my mind to let my hand slip and struck Da Shifu.”
Ke Zhen’E said, “Shifu this and Shifu that, who is your Shifu? You have the Master of the Peach Blossom Island as your father-in-law, why would you need a Shifu? The Seven Freaks of Jiangnan do not have the ability, how can we be worthy to be Guo Daye’s [big master Guo] Shifu?”
